What is important for you, as a teacher, to know about Olivia’s relationship to and uses of technology?
The aspects of Olivia’s relationship with technology which are important to know as a teacher are her desire to work with technology, her frequency in doing so, and the unique ways of she works with technology. All of these aspects can affect her performance in the classroom and her willingness to work with technology.
How, if at all, have any of the three technologies impacted the ways in which you learn new information?
I think that having a cell phone has made me less attentive to the world around me. For example, prior to having a cell phone I used my home phone and had the numbers of many of my family members and friends memorized. Once I started using a cell phone I became accustomed to simply finding my contact in my phone’s address book and hitting “send” or “call.” I no longer had to make sure I memorized phone numbers. Now I have a “smartphone” which allows me to do an unimaginable number of things, all with just a few screen taps. Having such easy access to knowledge has been a crutch to me, and has affected the way I learn information in a negative way. I feel that now I have become accustomed to relying on technology to aid me in the process of acquiring new information. I am less likely to attempt to learn something new if I know there is a way of getting around it through the use of technology.
Owning my own laptop has most certainly changed the way I learn new information. I think having access to the internet whenever I need it has undeniable benefits. I can find information on almost anything, whether it be of an academic subject matter or a personal interest. I think the availability of information from the internet has allowed educators and students to take learning outside of the classroom without actually leaving the classroom. I feel that my laptop has encouraged me to be a more independent student. Quite often I find myself using social media sites such as Tumblr, Youtube, and StumbleUpon to find new and unique information about art. The things I have discovered through these sites have opened my eyes to an art world outside of my classrooms.
What are the similarities and differences between your uses of those 3 most influential technologies as compared to the uses of technologies among the young people from these 2 videos?
Like the students in the videos, I use my technologies for both academics and social reasons. Many of the students stated that they use technologies for fun, for example through computer games or texting friends, and I do the same, however the students from the videos seemed to also utilize the technologies to help them flourish in their interest, for example creating music or learning foreign languages. I do explore my interest in art, but I don’t do so to the extent that these students seemed to. As an artist, I have not used technology to create art, whereas some of these young people who are interested in music have created their own music through the applications made available to them through technology. Another example of this can be found in the 2nd video. One of the younger girls who spoke explained that she uses her laptop to create websites. She commented that she is enjoys the “strawberry shortcake” toys and that she included them on her website. This past semester I created my first user-friendly website focused on my art and future career as an art educator. I would never have been inclined to do so had I not been encouraged, and frankly, required to. These students really incorporate technologies into multiple aspects of their lives, whereas I think that for the most part I separate technology from many aspects of my life.
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